MHS Leaflet, May 2024

Leaflet A MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY PUBLICATION

MAY 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

4 6 7 8 10 10 11 12 14 20 24 28 32

From the President's Desk James Hearsum May Allison Dush Exhibition in the Tent on Boston Common, 1852 Illustration by Marianne Orlando New England Fall Flower Show: Registration Filling up!

Upcoming MHS Classes Hunnewell Estate Guided Tours Drop-In Programs "Bulbs and Spring Ephemerals" Spring Exhibit 2024 Garden Opening Sponsors In First Person: How Flower Shows Became my Little League

By Matt Mattus Fall Flower Show Photography Competition: Edwin Lincoln Hale Participate

By Catherine Cooper From the Stacks

By Maureen T. O'Brien Getting Going!

By John Lee

CONTACT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Wayne Mezitt

waynem@westonnurseries.com

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MANAGING EDITOR Meghan Connolly

mconnolly@masshort.org

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

F

or generations, Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the New England Flower Show have been effectively synonymous. The show is the physical distillation of our mission to bring people together around growing plants for the public good. It is also a challenging format that must adapt to the times to thrive. We are thrilled to be bringing to you the 138th New England Flower Show this September, here at our Elm Bank Garden home. The show builds on our legacy, focused on the showing of exceptional plants, florals and horticultural expertise, with a wide range of participation opportunities for newcomers and veterans alike. A show like this has life only through the participation of our members, so please plan now to show plants, exhibit, volunteer, attend and support. Our theme, legacy and hope, reflects our deliberate attempt to draw on the best of our long history as a foundation for a bright and greener future.

We look forward to seeing you in the garden and at the 138th New England Flower Show in September.

James Hearsum President & Executive Director

Cover: MHS Fall Show 1935 MHS Leaflet | 3

MAY

Allison Dush Director of Education and Guest Experience

It’s finally May! The Garden is beginning to burst with color and life. May is always such an energetic time; it seems everything starts to kick off this time of year. Summer sports are gearing up, school is winding down, and summer plans are being jotted on the calendar. It’s the season of participation! We’ve waited all winter for these warmer days and now it’s time to make the most of them. Amidst the hustle and bustle of May's activities, I invite you to add us to your calendar for the upcoming season. With so many new and exciting things happening on site, there are so many ways you can take part in what’s happening at the Garden.

As we wrap up the second annual Tulip Mania, I’m reminded of one of the easiest and most impactful ways to participate in our events, Volunteering. From pre-season prep with our horticulture team to guest experience assistance on busy days - our volunteers helped us to fill over 150 sessions in the month of April.

This has been the busiest spring on record and to those who donated their time and effort to helping us make it a great one we can’t say thank you enough!

From assisting our horticulture team to answering visitor questions, helping us build out new projects on-site, or documenting our collections in the library there are countless ways to get involved and

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Corporate volunteer group clears invasive species in the Olmsted Bros. designed Asian Garden

make a difference. I will soon be reaching out to our volunteer team with a brand-new list of opportunities and educational training sessions! I encourage you to sign up and start your volunteer journey with MHS today.

The excitement continues to ramp up for the return of the New England Fall Flower Show, our team has been busy working on vendors, load-in schedules, competition layouts, and most importantly our volunteer task force. How do we create an inviting atmosphere, where are guests going to need the most support, how will we educate about design competitions, and most importantly how to we transfer a love for the flower show to the next generation? Through our volunteers!

As September approaches, excitement will continue to grow for the jampacked weekend of the flower show. Beautiful displays, educational lectures, engaging hands-on programs, miniature garden showcases, and more.

Volunteers will be at the heart of it all, sharing their knowledge and passion for the show with visitors thus helping to create memorable experiences for all.

No matter what the season or event, whether lending a hand with horticultural tasks or assisting visitors with questions, volunteers participate in the garden's success. As we look forward to upcoming events, let's celebrate the spirit of community and collaboration that makes the garden thrive.

CONCERTS Free With Admission - Pack a Picnic!

Mothers Day! May 12th from 11am-1:30pm Desperate Measures Jazz Band May 29th at 6pm Group Therapy June 26th at 6pm Jamie Walker and Friends STAY TUNED - MORE COMING SOON!

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Marianne Orlando is a landscape architect turned freelance illustrator who loves plants, and does commissioned drawings of homes, pets and people. You can see samples of her work at www.marianneorlando.com.

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"Heritage and Hope" at the Garden at Elm Bank, Wellesley, MA

REGISTRATION IS NOW FULL FOR: AMHORT KOKEDAMA FLORAL DESIGN BOTANICAL ARTS REGISTER TODAY TO BE A PART OF THE FALL FLOWER SHOW IN: MINIATURE GARDENS AND PHOTOGRAPHY

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UPCOMING

Pressed Flowers & Herbs Demonstration Saturday May 11 10:30 am - 12pm

CLASSES

Herb Liberation Tuesday, May 14 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM Virtual

Dahlias 101 Overview Wednesday, May 15 6:30-8pm

© Sarah Roche

Floral Design: Teacup Arrangements Saturday, May 18 10:30am-12pm

Terrarium Workshop Saturday, May 25 10-11:30am

Intro to Botanical Art: Foundations in a Week June 3-5: 9:30am-2:30 pm & June 6: 9:30am12:30pm © Tara Connaughton

Hypertufa Container Workshop Thursday, June 6 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

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Floral Design; Tropical Fantasy Saturday, June 6 10 - 11:30am

Botanical Sketchbook: June's Garden Treasures June 10, 13, & 17 10am–2pm Hybrid

© Susan T. Fisher

Watercolors and the Graphite Pencil June 11 - 12 & 18 - 20 10am–1pm Virtual

Pollination Ecology and Landscape Design Monday, June 17 6:30-8:30pm Virtual

Pollinators and Summer Flowers June 25; July 2, 9 9:30am-12:30pm

Guided Herb Garden Tour Wedneday June 26 Saturday June 29 9-10:30am

Eco Printing on Paper Wednesday, July 10 9am-4pm

Kokedama Workshop Wednesday, July 17 10-11:30am

The Art of Planting Design Workshop July 17, 24, 31 10am-2pm

Drawing in the Garden: Sunflowers in Color Pencils August 7 & 8 9:30am–3:30pm

Portraying Sunflowers in Color Pencils August 12–14 9:30am–3:30pm

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Hunnewell Estate Guided Tours 10 Dates Available May 28 - October 22 TOUR SPACE IS VERY LIMITED!

REGISTER In the Garden this Spring: Drop-in programs!

FREE WITH GARDEN ADMISSION

Education Station Saturdays from 10am-12pm

MahJongg Wednesdays at 12pm

Book Club Tuesday, May 14 from 1:30-2:30pm

Garden Tales Mondays at 11am

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"Bulbs and Spring Ephemerals are the harbingers of spring, showing up before leaves are fully out on the trees above them.

They provide early sustenance for pollinators emerging from hibernation and the promise of warmer days to come. Every year we anticipate their emergence, the tips of leaves bravely breaking through the soil in the cold days of early spring, reaffirming nature's reassuring rhythm and the change of seasons."

- Sarah Roche, Lead Instructor

COME SEE THESE FEATURED WORKS Poet's Narcissus Narcissus poeticus

© Pam Harrington

Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis

© Lauren Meier

"Spring Awakenings"

© Cheryl McCaffrey

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THANK YOU TO OUR

2024 GARDEN OPENING SPONSORS PLATINUM

GOLD

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BRONZE

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In First Person How Flower Shows Became My Little League

By Matt Mattus

I’m often asked how I became so interested in plants, and the answer is that while my parents kept a garden, and while some of my earliest memories involve all of the typical gardening tasks like sowing tomato seeds in late winter or weeding our 1/4-acre vegetable garden, there was something else at play that kept my plant passions active: competing in flower shows as a kid.

I can pinpoint when and where I became addicted to entering flower shows. It all began on a summer afternoon in late July of 1972, and it involved a skipped piano lesson, an Orange Julius and...a Lily Show.

My dad would drop me off in downtown Worcester for my piano lesson, and afterwards I would walk up the hill to where my mom worked at the school department and he would pick both of us up at 5:00. Yet on this day, I decided to skip my lesson, grab an Orange Julius at the Mall, and walk up to Elm park to enjoy the summer sunshine.

My walk to the park took me past Horticultural Hall, then home of the Worcester County Horticultural Society. My parents would take me there once a year in February to see the annual spring flower show. Still, on this July day, it wasn't the scent of hyacinths wafting out into the chilly winter air, but a much spicier scent - like some alchemist concocted a fragrance from cloves, Crest toothpaste, and my mom's Noxema cold cream. You know, that weird scent produced by trumpet lilies.

It was set-up day for a summer lily show hosted by the New England Regional Lily group. I remember that name because the following year I won my first ribbon at the very same lily show and I still have the ribbon. The horticultural society librarian must have seen me looking in through the library door into the great hall as exhibitors were setting up their displays. I can remember the tall stems, some seemed to be as 14 | May 2024

Massachusetts Horticultural Society

tall as I was and each topped with candelabras of down-facing and outfacing lilies.

I know that to some folks today, exhibiting at flower shows hosted by horticultural societies could seem like a relics of a time gone by. Like some Victorian elitist event - maybe recalling that one episode of Downton Abby where the common townfolk enter their roses but never, ever expect to win. But twelve year old me? He must have been fearless.

I saw the classes being set out, the trays of cabbages and peas, the rows of early apples all neatly arranged in rows, that one table with all of the different colors of watermelon - and a table with just marigolds on display.

I saw vases of flowers I was familiar with, but only by what they looked like in seed catalog photos. There were vases of every imaginable type of aster - the ostrich plume kinds, the cactus flowered ones, tall ones, miniature ones, and all in one place at one time. When I think about it now, those flower shows reminded me of mineral displays one sees at natural history museums except here they were flowers and all

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arranged by variety and type. It was just like a seed catalog where all of the photos came to life.

Then I saw the marigold table. There were clear vases with gigantic orange marigolds, endless types of short French crested varieties, and one big vase with the most incredible, perfect 3" blooms that were primrose yellow. "These are very special..." the librarian pointed out.

“They were grown by another boy like you from Millbury" she explained.

"And look, he was awarded a State of Massachusetts Department of Agriculture blue rosette ribbon for his entry. Isn't that nice?"

All I could think about my marigold rows at home in my parents' veg garden where I had planted every variety that I could find that summer.

I thought to myself, "Dang! I really think that I could enter mine and maybe win something.”

And that's how entering flower shows became my Little League.

You've probably guessed by now that I wasn't exactly the typical twelveyear-old, as I was already obsessed with gardening. My parents allowed me to grow whatever I wanted in that corner of their vegetable garden.

Still, once I started entering flower shows...that corner grew with each

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MHS Flower Show

year until I claimed nearly half of the entire garden for my competition varieties. I was that kid who could care less about Marvel comics or Mad Magazine, but I knew when the Burpee's or Park's seed catalog would arrive in January. Those became dog-eared and filled with notes as I composed wish lists of what I wanted to order, dreaming of the coming year and those flower shows held every two weeks.

After that, every summer until college, I became a severe flower show athlete. I became an athlete because flower shows became my sport.

I would search out interesting seed varieties based not only on what I saw in the new catalogs but also on my notes from previous shows.

Flower shows are a great place to see flowers and vegetables in real life.

I was learning without realizing it. I acquired such knowledge and expertise that by the time I entered high school, my horticulturist teacher attempted to stump the class on the first day by holding up various annuals, perennials, and vegetables to see what his students knew. When I guessed them all, he pulled me aside and said that I could work in the greenhouse for the rest of the semester because I wasn't going to learn anything new in his class.

Flower shows are excellent places to take notes, even if one never enters and competes. I still advise new gardeners to attend a plant society show if they really want to see the latest and greatest spider flowered daylily or want to understand all the different types of dahlias. But by competing, you also learn, rubbing elbows with more experienced growers, and the joy of sharing your luck and maybe skill (often just by accident) when you occasionally win a ribbon, but the social aspect of entering along with many other home growers is just as fun, believe me.

Isn’t it funny how the idea of flower shows remains so popular in England, but not here in the US? That's why I was so thrilled when I first heard about MHS reintroducing the idea of hosting a flower show and kicking it off with a late summer show - the sort of show where nearly everyone can find something to enter. What fun.

The timing may also be kismet, as more young are interested in gardening today than ever before. The signs are everywhere, from the local flower movement to the revitalized houseplant trend, to floral design, to home gardeners sharing their successes (and sometimes failures) on social media. There was a time just a decade ago when I would speak to garden clubs about dahlias, and the audience would

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laugh out loud. "Those were the gaudy flowers that our grandparents grew!" I would hear.

We all know that dahlias have been rediscovered by a new generation of gardeners, and along with other old-fashioned flowers like ranunculus and sweet peas are popular once again.

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Dahlia Show at Floral Reserve in Providence, RI - Fall 2023 Photo by Karen Daubmann

Noanett Garden Club's Fall Flower Show at the Garden at Elm Bank, Fall 2023

I hope everyone reading this thinks about entering one of the classes in this new MHS flower show concept. You don't need to be an expert or even a plant geek, as there are classes for nearly everyone, from photography buffs to those handy in arranging flowers. Even that one perfectly perfect marigold blooming in your September garden has a decent chance to win a ribbon, and we all know how that can turn out.

I mean, it's not as if there are many professional marigold growers out there. What's the worst that can happen? Don't blame me if you find yourself planting more varieties next year to enter!

Matt Mattus is a visual designer, artist, and horticulturist living in Worcester, MA. Trustee of New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill and Vice President of Worcester County Horticultural Society, Matt is recognized for his garden writing and photography in his popular gardening blog Growing with Plants, which has garnered recognition in leading lifestyle magazines.

For ‘In First Person,’ Leaflet Editor-in-Chief Wayne Mezitt interviews people in horticulture and adjacent fields by asking a standard set of questions about their work.

This column offers an opportunity for people in these fields to share their passions with readers; what motivates them, and how they define and measure success.

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Photography Competition “Celebrating the Photographic Heritage of Edwin Hale Lincoln” Edwin Hale Lincoln (1848-1938) was an award winning photographer at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. He took his photographs with a box camera and developed his negatives using the platinum printing process, one of the most durable and beautiful processes available. He began his career shooting nautical and architectural images, but his true passion was flora in nature. Lincoln’s work was especially important to two early 20th-century movements-the Arts and Crafts movement to preserve wildflowers and wild gardens in America and the movement to include photography in the fine arts.

(Massachusetts Horticultural Society). To view his work in the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library go to: Edwin Hale Lincoln Archive

Registration is open through June 15 Explore the six classes, inspired by Edwin Hale Lincoln's work

ALL IMAGES ARE PART OF MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S EDWIN HALE LINCOLN GLASS NEGATIVES COLLECTION 20 | May 2024

Class 1: Wild for Flowers

Lincoln’s true passion was photographing portraits of wildflowers.

A close-up image of a flower REGISTER FOR CLASS 1 HERE

Symplocarpus foetidus Eastern skunk cabbage

Class 2: The Berkshires

Scene at Arnold Arboretum

Lincoln photographed natural landscapes in western Massachusetts where he lived for many years.

A landscape from any geographic area with rolling mountains and meadows REGISTER FOR CLASS 2 HERE ALL IMAGES ARE PART OF MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S EDWIN HALE LINCOLN GLASS NEGATIVES COLLECTION MHS Leaflet | 21

Class 3: Pride of Palaces

House garden and trees

“Pride of Palaces” features many of Lincoln’s images of grand estates in the Berkshires.

An image of a “grand” property or estate with the building as the primary focal point. Plant material is required.

REGISTER FOR CLASS 3 HERE

Class 4: Trees in a Forest

Lincoln’s “Last of the Chestnut Trees, Winter in Lenox” (1929) is a platinum print, currently in the Philadelphia Museum of Art collection. He had a particular fascination with ancient trees.

An image displaying the stillness and form of trees in a forest setting or grove REGISTER FOR CLASS 4 HERE

Castanea dentata American chestnut

ALL IMAGES ARE PART OF MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S EDWIN HALE LINCOLN GLASS NEGATIVES COLLECTION 22 | May 2024

Class 5: Luxury and Splendor

Orchids, once seen as a rare and luxurious item to own, were a favorite subject for Lincoln as they became more accessible in the late 19th century.

A Still Life of an orchid accompanied by a few objects of interest Cypripedium acaule Pink lady's slipper

REGISTER FOR CLASS 5 HERE

Class 6: Elegant Complexity

“Lincoln’s compositions, (are a) perfect arrangement of blossoms, stems and leaves which verge on abstraction, and with a beauty almost severe.” (“Elegant Complexity” by Baker Schorr Fine Art)

A flower or small group of flowers using creative techniques REGISTER FOR CLASS 6 HERE

Liriodendron tulipifera Tulip Tree

ALL IMAGES ARE PART OF MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S EDWIN HALE LINCOLN GLASS NEGATIVES COLLECTION MHS Leaflet | 23

PA RT I C I PAT E

By Catherine Cooper

May is the time when gardening is in full swing. With warming temperatures we can start growing more tender things as well as annuals. It is also the time of year when yard signs spring up like mushrooms announcing a variety of plant sales. Most of these are for local garden clubs advertising their annual fund-raising plant sales, although they are not the only ones aiming to add much needed funds to

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their coffers in order to support their various programs. Horticultural organizations and non-profits also hold sales and all these events give the curious gardener plenty of opportunity to spend enjoyable hours browsing and buying plants as well as chatting with fellow gardening and plant enthusiasts.

These horticultural sales usually take place on Saturdays, and if they are two day events, it is often still best to attend the first day in order to find the choicest selections. Therefore, it has been several years since I have attended a May plant sale, as I have had a work schedule that included Saturdays. That’s not to say I have been deprived of the opportunity to purchase plants and even attending on the second day, if there is one, has yielded some great treasures. But what I have missed for a few years now is the social occasion that these sales are; the chance to mix and mingle with fellow plant lovers with whom you can share the excitement and pleasure as well as the trials and tribulations of gardening.

Opposite: Bearded iris Below: Teasels with Monarch

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While it has been a good few years since I have managed to get to a garden club plant sale, I can still recall what I bought, and they are still doing well. The first of these were some white violets, a non-native cultivar to be honest, but given my liking for scented plants and the fact that most violets are not white, I was willing to give them a go. What I didn’t consider was how much they would like my yard. I was happy for them to fill one particular area, but they surreptitiously distribute liberal amounts of seed into neighboring parts of my garden the effort of which causes some of them to revert to purple. Therefore, some careful culling has to happen where they are concerned, and also some transplanting to really tough areas under trees to see if they will solve the groundcover situation in these spots. So while they might not have been the most sensible of choices, they flower early and bees appreciate that, so on balance they are welcome.

I made a better choice with the bearded iris I bought. I have no idea as to the variety - they are white, but more of a faintly blue-ish white rather than the brilliant white of some. From my initial purchase I have about five clumps and this sun-loving tough perennial is quite at home in my sun-baked yard. It is also much better behaved than the violets and instead is the one to be surrounded by the ebb and flow of various annuals and more aggressive perennials.

Over the years I have added a deep purple specimen, along with a delicate apricot colored one, which did not come from plant sales.

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Sales by horticultural organizations have yielded some interesting finds as far as I’m concerned and for me they have the bonus that while they might have times of the year when they have particular sales, they also often sell plants in lesser quantities throughout the

year. Over the years I have purchased biennial teasels (Dipsacus fullonum) - great for dried flower arranging or craft projects - along with garden heliotrope (Valeriana officinalis), which I love for its scented flowers and the hummingbirds love as a perch from which they can guard the nearby nectar feeders. With hindsight I can see that these might not have been the best of choices, given that in some parts of the the country they are considered invasive, but it appears I have been doing what European settlers have done for centuries: planting something familiar from their homeland. In addition, as I love being surrounded by houseplants, I have also purchased a number that have caught my eye. They include various orchid cacti; a parachute plant (Ceropegia sandersonii) which I hope will one day produce their unusual parachute shaped flowers and, for those of us who have a soft spot for gesneriads, a Vietnamese violet, Michaelmoelleria vietnamensis.

All of these plants bring enjoyment, but they also are reminders of where and how they were bought, which adds another layer of pleasure in that they bring to mind so much more than their mere presence they bring to mind happy experiences. Therefore, I’ve been on the look out for these signs for several weeks and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to participate in my passion for plants along with fellow gardening enthusiasts.

Opposite: Heliotrope with Hummingbird Above: Vietnamese violet

Born in England, Catherine learned to garden from her parents and from that developed a passion for plants. Catherine works assisting customers at the newest Weston Nurseries location in Lincoln. When not at Weston Nurseries, she can often be found in her flower beds or tending to an ever-increasing collection of houseplants.

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"

Exhibitions are kind of ephemeral moments, sometimes magic moments, and when they're gone, they're gone.

Hans-Ulrich Obrist

"

While exhibitions disappear, the memories survive. Many people retain warm memories of the Society’s past exhibitions, the best and largest horticultural exhibitions in the United States.

This year new memories will be made. The Society’s Flower Show has been on hiatus since 2008. However, this fall on Saturday, September 21 and Sunday, September 22, 2024, the Society is returning to its roots when it presents the 2024 New England Fall Flower Show at its headquarters, The Garden at Elm Bank. The show’s theme, “Heritage and Hope” reflects the Society’s history of flower shows and aspirations for future growth.

Feature: Archives – The Flower Shows Recent memories of the Society’s exhibitions focus on the spring flower shows. What may not be known is that exhibitions and awards were an integral part of the Society’s mission in its original By-Laws. Starting in June 29, 1829, its month of incorporation, the Society held weekly exhibitions on Saturdays and an Annual Exhibition in September. For many decades, the fall show was the Society’s major show of the year and fall flower shows continued through the 1970s, often with featured plants such as chrysanthemums or dahlias.

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1903 Grand Spring Exhibition at the third Horticultural Hall on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. Society’s Archives. The Boston Globe reported that the scene was enlivened by electric lights and a musical program every afternoon and evening. Exhibits included bay and palm trees, climbing roses, tropical and other flowers, fruits and vegetables.

By 1871, the weekly exhibitions became more elaborate and complicated to produce. Therefore, several early spring ornamental plant exhibitions were combined into a semi-annual exhibition. This semi-annual exhibition started the tradition of the Society’s spring exhibitions.

Originally, these shows featured ornamental plants, arrangements and cut flowers, fruits and vegetables. As the 20th century approached, the east coast became more urbanized, and agriculture moved west and became industrialized. As a result, the focus of Society’s exhibitions changed to ornamental horticulture and gardens. The Annual Spring Flower Show became the Society’s major show of the year until 2008, when the Society reorganized and refocused its resources and efforts from flower show production to participation in the Boston Flower Show, produced by Paragon Group.

You can view a spreadsheet of the Society’s Spring Flower Shows here.

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Display Ad in the March 20, 1903 edition of The Boston Globe, p. 2. for the Grand Spring Exhibition.

MHS Book Club

The next meeting of the Book Club is on Tuesday, May 14th at 1:30 pm. in the Crocket Garden. The club will be discussing The Orchard: A Memoir by Adele Crockett Robertson. All are welcome to attend.

May 14 The Orchard: A Memoir by Adele Crockett Robertson

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June 18 Flower Confidential

by Amy Stewart

August 20 The Story of Flowers and How They Changed the Way We Live by Noel Kingsbury

September 17 American Eden by Victoria Johnson

Poster for the 1903 Flower Show at Horticultural Hall.

Society Archives. At the Garden at Elm Bank, you will find framed Flower Show posters in the Library and in the Putnam Building.

Factoid In 1906, New Bedford florist H. A. Jahn refused to sell a fragrant carnation that he bred that was “perfectly white, of large size, with a stem of great length and strength,” and 3 ½ to 4 inches in diameter for $8,000.

He later exhibited it as carnation #49 at the Fall Chrysanthemum Show, where he received an honorable mention for the bloom.

Our Collections are Growing Thank you to Angelika Angino and Maureen Horn for their in-kind donations to the Library.

COME VISIT! The Library is open on Thursdays from 9am - 1pm and by appointment. Please email Library & Archives Manager Maureen O’Brien for an appointment if you want to schedule a visit.

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Getting

Going!

By John Lee John shares stories of Bert and Brenda and their gardening wisdom. These chronicles feature recipes, tried-and-true gardening practices, and seasonal struggles and successes. Bert and Brenda were first introduced in the March 2022 issue of Leaflet.

Things were really starting to grow in the garden. The spring had been warmer than usual but despite also being wetter, the soils were warmer and more salubrious. There had been little damping off this year so Bert was quite pleased with how things were coming along.

Even his burgeoning compost piles were no longer water-logged as they sometimes were as winter turned toward spring and the finished piles turned from icy cold to loamy light.

Bert liked to get a jump on the weather. He had kept track over the years of exactly where the soils in his various garden plots hit 50 degrees soonest. It was then that his outdoor gardening season went into high gear (at least in terms of his annual expectations). Before that, he had gotten out his hoops, floating fabric (if it wasn’t in shreds from the

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storms last year!) and row markers (so he wouldn’t forget what was planted where). Some years there were weeks between when he was ready and the atmospheric conditions cooperated. Several cold, rainy days in a row could really put a damper on his ambitions. Usually, this was not a problem because, God knows, there were plenty of other chores that were begging for his attention. But once the weather was ‘nice’, the soils (hopefully) irreversibly warming, his seeds long-since sorted and his transplants at just the right stage of maturity, he would watch for impending inclement weather especially if transplants were on his agenda. He did not trust the weather reports – Bert kept an eye out for the swallows (barn and tree) swooping low around the yard scooping up unsuspecting flying insects. He had long ago noticed that before a spring rain, insects tend to fly closer to the ground for reasons he could not determine. Maybe it was low pressure due to the in-coming frontal system? It did not matter. Swooping swallows were a harbinger of the onset of a little wet weather. He knew it was time to start setting out the early transplants. They would be well-watered without his having to lug the hoses.

Coincidentally, he waited patiently for the maples to flower before planting his peas. Years ago, Bert had learned that planting peas too early was a waste of time and space. If the soils and the air were too cold, a good yield was about 4-5 peas per pod. If he waited a bit and the soils were warmer, the sun a little stronger (for longer), Brenda was happier because she’d noticed that there were more like eight peas to the pod – she had less shelling for the same amount of

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peas and he didn’t have to replant to get the harvest she said she needed. There were other cold season crops that he timed to the vicissitudes of nature. He always waited until his daffodils were in full bloom before planting Swiss chard, spinach, beets and onion sets. Beans, cucumbers and carrots were a little more delicate- they could wait until the apple blossoms fell like snow. After that, it was a free-for-all - time for the tender herbs, the tender nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes) and brassicas followed by succession plantings of lettuce. There were always endless opportunities for successions (beets, chard, whatever Brenda wanted more of this summer.

Of singular import every year was the intention of visiting one or more of the annual gardening shows throughout the region. Most of the shows were spring and early summer which was the worst time for them as it was for most dedicated gardeners. For horticulturists, this was less of an issue, perennials being what they were and annuals less finnicky than lettuces. It was incomprehensible to them to be away from their gardens when there was so much work to do and that needed to be done on a timely basis. Late summer, late September there was sometimes a lull between heavy harvests because the weather was cooling, crops were not ripening as quickly. A respite from the daily chores could be a welcome reprieve. As it turns out, this year MA Horticultural Society is planning a weekend gardener’s extravaganza at their Elm Bank headquarters September 21-22. The best part was that it was a two-day affair. They could have a bit of a bus-man’s holiday and get a place to stay overnight if they wished. Neither had ever ventured into any of the larger horticultural extravaganzas. Both deemed them

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likely too crowded and their landscape really didn’t need a massage.

But a two-day affair could be just right. They’d have a look at what the area garden clubs were doing, get some fresh ideas about the latest plantings for fall and maybe listen to a couple of the garden cognoscenti opine on things he’d never given a thought to. And it was outdoors – not in some dreary temple of industry. Most likely there would be a few competitive events. Bert knew Brenda was good a flower arranger and might she enter a stunning bouquet to capture the attention and then acclaim of the judges. He talked to Brenda who liked the idea but tried

to talk some common sense into his head about flower arranging (she being more modest about her qualifications). However, 48 hours away from the stove would indeed be a blessing. Maybe they could invite a couple of neighbor gardeners to come along and share some new ideas.

They could bring their kids along to see what other area youth is up to.

Inspiring kids is always a good idea, Brenda thought. Bert’s nephew, Forest had been motivated by a summer at Bert’s side last year. Sadly, his sister, Sue B, less so. Yet both Bert and Brenda remained philosophical: if we are going to eat well at a lovely table, then the next generation needs inspiration and education in the know-how department.

John Lee is the recently retired manager of MHS Gold Medal winner Allandale Farm, Cognoscenti contributor and president of MA Society for Promoting Agriculture. He sits on the UMASS Board of Public Overseers and is a long-time op-ed contributor to Edible Boston and other publications.

MHS Leaflet | 35

The Garden at Elm Bank Open April 1-November 26 Classes, Programs Year-round www.masshort.org

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Massachusetts Horticultural Society 900 Washington St Wellesley, MA 617.933.4900